Green Wing: Holly, Mac, Caroline
by azuresoul
Summary: Green Wing. If anyone likes Mac and Caroline fics, hopefully they will like this storyline... a little fluff, as always... Please R&R... it does help with the fluff reduction and improvement of stories! some language btw, hence rating.


Mac turned to Caroline. He was really nervous, and didn't know how she would react, but he stretched his hand out so that his little finger touched hers. Caroline didn't flinch, but instead looked up and him and smiled. Only her smile quite had that effect on him. Something flickered inside of him, some memory, and he realised that he had been in this situation before with Caroline; said the same things. He looked deep into her eyes, and saw exactly how he felt being reflected back at him. He leant forwards to kiss her.

Cold, clammy hands stretched over his eyes at this point. Confused for a second as to whether this was Guy making some twattish attempt to stop him (as he thought that Guy secretly had a hot-spot for Caroline), he did nothing, and simply looked unamused. Then a shiver ran down him, and his blood turned in somersaults as he heard Holly speak.

Over the next few hours, Mac wasn't really listening to a word anyone was saying. When Holly first turned up, all Mac could feel was anger. How dare she show up, just when things were going right for him? How could she interrupt that moment when he had put his feelings on the line with another person, and not had them rejected, as she had done to him?

She just seemed so normal, and well. She didn't seem to have an inch of guilt surrounding her about what she had done. Normal people would avoid making contact with the person whose heart they ripped out, then trod all over. In front of Guy no less.

He remembered that day. He had just left their apartment. Holly was back to sleep – she said she felt really unwell, and she looked really pale. She had also been rather tetchy with him the evening before, not allowing him to even cuddle her when they were watching a movie. He got to work, and was about to turn his phone off to enter the hospital, when he realised he had a text, from Holly. The gist of it was that she said that she had left the house. She was pregnant, but she was at the stage of her career where she didn't want a family, as she wasn't even married. She said she had packed up her stuff in the apartment, and that she had gone. She said she understood if Mac never wanted to talk to her again. Guy was reading it, secretly over his shoulder. Mac had turned straight around and headed home, standing still for hours in the apartment, at the empty space.

Yet here she was, filling the space next to him again. What if Mac i _didn't /i _ want to talk to her? But she seemed to make hating her so difficult. That was how Mac had been able to cope these past years, by thinking of, and creating, reasons to hate Holly. She just seemed to make everything so easy, so simple.

Why hadn't he run after her; stopped her from going through with it? He could have proposed, married her, started a family. But he was so young then; he wasn't ready, the older Mac told himself.

Sitting there, alone, as Holly had just nipped to the toilets, (a sickeningly romantic cafe, chosen by her), he felt his phone vibrate. It was from Caroline. Mac pushed his hand through his hair, took a big breath, and then opened it.

i Dear Mac.

I understand if you want to be with Holly, now she is back. I see she was, and is, a big part of your life, and now she is back, if you want to be with her, go for it. I won't stop you. If you are happy, I'm happy.

Love Caroline x /i 

Mac's heart sank. At that point, Holly walked back. She took a big breath, as if she was about to say something huge.

"Listen, Paul. I need to talk to you, really, that's why I asked you out – I was rather hoping that we would be alone, so that's good. It would have been rather awkward if the others had been here. Ummm… it's about you and me. I think I was rather stupid then, I was young… Oh god, you've got me rambling… it's just this is quite difficult for me…"

Mac could not believe this was happening to him. Not right now. Everything was going right until she turned up. Now she was digging up old feelings that Mac weren't even sure were gone.

Caroline opened her front door, and stepped through. She dropped her bag next to the table, and threw her keys into a bowl rather more forcefully than usual. Guy thought to make some witty remark, and was about to, but then decided that Caroline might castrate him on the spot. Caroline sat down to write something on her phone, and without asking, Guy wondered around Caroline's house, inspecting it.

Caroline wrote the message several times, so that when Guy had finished looking around ten minutes later, she was still writing it, her head in her hands. When she finally threw the phone down, she stood up, bumping into Guy. Muttering a hasty sorry, she left her coat and her keys in their place, and told Guy she was going for a walk. She didn't know how long she would be. She needed a drink. She told Guy to stay at home.

Guy sat down on the sofa. He looked at Caroline's phone. He picked it up, and then put it back down, reprimanding himself for thinking of invading someone's privacy. That lasted for all of a minute and a half. He picked it up, and read the message that Caroline had just sent.

Back in the restaurant, Holly was trying to explain herself. Mac wasn't really listening anymore. It seemed that all the feelings that he had ever felt were welling up inside of him. He was so confused. He was fiddling furiously with the fork in front of him in order to block out what was being said to him. What if he did get back with Holly? If it was that easy for her, then why not him? Why couldn't they just left off where they started? Then Mac caught sight of his phone. That was why. Caroline. He interrupted her.

"Sorry, excuse me Holly. I just need to ask you one thing. What are you doing here?"

"I think I'm here for the same reason as you, Paul, darling…

"Well, in that case, I think I have made a huge mistake…"

"What I am trying to explain to you is that I think I still love…"

"No. No. Don't you use that one on me. I've listened to you. So why don't you listen to me now, ok? Why don't you go back to the US and leave me alone, yeah? You had no difficulty before. Pack up, and just leave. Now. I'm telling you to go. I've made a mistake by even being here. Just go away; just fuck off anywhere… just away. Goodbye, Holly." He hopped over the back of the bench and walked out.

At the end of the street before the pub, Caroline had to stop for a bit, under a shelter. She was soaked through. The heavens seemed to have opened and display exactly what Caroline was feeling in the form of rain. Caroline began crying slightly. She then took a big breath and carried on her walk. She had no idea where she was, or where she was going.

Mac turned the corner, wondering aimlessly, thinking whether he should go over to Caroline's house and explain. Explain how he didn't feel the same way for Holly any more. Explain that Caroline made him realise that what he had with Holly was a lot more superficial. Mac was freezing; his hair was plastered to the side of his face, and his t-shirt was stuck to him. He didn't have the energy or patience to zip up his jacket; and besides he didn't really care at that point. He needed to explain to Caroline that she made him smile, made him laugh, in a way that no-one else did. She made him feel warm and fuzzy without even needing to talk to him. All she needed to do was look at him, and that was enough. Enough to make him want to hold her and say that he was all hers; enough that he wanted to spend every minute of the day with her, just being with her. Was it too late? Had he messed up yet another part of his life? A small tear ran down his face as he tried to get his bearings, and find his way to Caroline's house.

Caroline stopped dead. Her heart went up to her mouth, and she stopped breathing for a few seconds. She was walking along the high street, and saw Mac in the most romantic café with Holly. He had obviously taken note of her text, and gone ahead with Holly. She felt a wave of tears burst within her, but she couldn't cry. She walked as fast as she could, and slipped over on the wet pavement. A man, passing by, tried to help her up, but she merely swatted his hand away, and stood up clumsily by herself.

Guy had a right mind to find Mac and tell him what a ginger twat he had been. He knew exactly what was going on; he had seen Caroline's face. Secretly he liked her (a little…, well more than that), but evidently not as much as they liked each other, what with Mac threatening to kill him with a wooden clog, and Caroline's recent attitude towards him in the house. He tried Mac's phone, but it was off. What was he doing with Holly? He walked out the house, grabbing Caroline's keys. In all honesty, he wanted to make Caroline happy, and if that meant helping Mac not to break her heart, then so be it.

Guy had nearly got to the pub that the doctors all usually went to (he figured that's where Caroline might have gone, for one of her gin & gins), when he spotted them, at a distance. They were standing at opposite ends of the street, both soaking wet. Slowly, Mac began to walk to Caroline, then more briskly. Caroline took a few steps, and stopped as Mac reached her. Mac took Caroline's hands, holding them as he looked into her eyes. Caroline was talking to Mac, questioning him, and crying. Mac was fervently replying, reassuring her. He hugged her, and held her close, and Caroline continued to cry. But she was smiling. Then Mac broke away, looked into her eyes, and threw his arms around her, kissing her. At this point, Guy looked down, and then away. He smiled slightly, turned around, and headed back to Caroline's house.

"So," said Mac softly, into Caroline's ear, "Is it too late to come back to your gaff this evening?"


End file.
